Jan 17, 2006- Kaptur Visits Bittersweet Farms to Offer Congratulations on $1.3M HUD Award
Whitehouse, Ohio -- Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-9)visited Bittersweet Farms today, a treatment facility for individuals withautism, to announce a $1.3 housing award for the construction of 12 newresidential units on the organization's property in Whitehouse, Ohio.
The award will allow the facility to serve more adults in a residentialsetting. Currently, over 100 adults are on the waiting list and theexpansion of the facility will alleviate the waiting time for admission to theprogram. The new housing initiative will be called the Bettye Ruth Kay Homesin honor of Bittersweet's founder, and will be located in the western field ofthe farm on the south end nearest Archbold-Whitehouse Road. Preferred Properties, Inc. helped to prepare the grant application and will actas developer.
"Thanks to organizations like Bittersweet, families of autism will benefitfrom this expanded treatment model in the spirit that Bettye Ruth Kayintended," said Kaptur. "I believe sufficient resources must be allocatedto ensure that individuals with autism receive the care they need and are ableto reach some level of independence. Researchers are making exciting advancesinto autism and our communities are becoming increasingly aware of thecomplexity of this disorder."
The award comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development'sSection 811, Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities program. Kapturhas served for nearly twenty years on housing committees and is a member of theCongressional Autism Caucus in the House of Representatives.
In 2000, Kaptur secured a grant to Swanton Township for infrastructure forBittersweet Farms and Camp Courageous,a summer camp for mentally retarded and developmentally disabled children andadults which is also located in Whitehouse, for Fiscal Year 2001 from U.S. EPAthrough the formerly-titled VA, HUD & Independent Agencies Appropriationsbill. The money was used for a water line to serve the two institutionsthat had been using wells and therefore were not able to grow.
Bittersweet Farms was created by a concerned group of parents, communityleaders, and professionals in 1977 and has grown to an 80-acre site serving 21individuals in the residential program, nine individuals in a supported livingunit, 40 individuals in a day program, 15 individuals in a summer program, andsix individuals in a supported employment program.